Feathers & Scars by Feel Freeze

On their debut record Feathers & Scars the Danish duo Feel Freeze marries personal emotion with political sincerity. Dedicated to the queer community, the synth-pop duo’s debut wants to show the world how you can bend norms for gender identity, sexuality and the life of queer existence. The album tells about pain and struggle while firmly remaining an uplifting celebration of diversity in sexuality and gender identity.

Drawing inspiration from artists such as ANOHNI, The Flaming Lips, Royksöpp and Robyn the songs on the album are based on the experiences and views of band members Raymonde Gaunoux & Mathias Vinther Lilholt. Ray sings of his life as transgender – on tracks such as ‘Bend the Night’, ‘Heroes’ & ‘First Dream’ - and the dream of being allowed to be himself, with nobody questioning or wanting him to define his identity. On the artwork the duo has decided to show Ray’s upper body, to claim a space in pop culture that is mainly taken by cis-men. Mathias sings – as on ‘Bridge to Your Heart’, ‘Let Go!’ and ‘In Your Mind’ – of being a sensitive cis-man who thrives better in his frailty and in conversations about feelings than meeting society’s expectations for men being masculine and hard-edged.

Ray recently wrote about his personal experience of growing up trans for Gay Star News, in which he told them “the music and my identity are closely combined. When I express my feelings and situation it automatically becomes a political statement because trans and queer people still do not have the same visibility and rights as gender and sexuality conforming individuals.”

Feel Freeze is a Danish electro-pop duo consisting of Raymonde Gaunoux and Mathias Vinther Lilholt whose vocal harmonies appear crystal clear on top of the whimsical and melodious arrangements. Armed with electronic beats, bass drones, acoustic guitar and an old Jupiter 4 synthesizer Feel Freeze creates musical bubbles in which you can rest your feelings.